At a time when most car companies considered body design to be unimportant, E.L. Cord’s Auburn Automobile Company was setting new standards. With talented designers like Gordon Buehrig and Alan Leamy, the company was able to hold its own in an otherwise disastrous Depression-era market, proving once and for all that a great design sells cars.

Auburn’s role was to provide a mid-range car with innovative engineering and impressive styling at an affordable price, and by all measures the company succeeded. With all new styling by Leamy for 1931, the new Auburns were a big hit and more than 4,000 orders were taken at the New York Auto Show alone.

Few changes were made for 1932, the twelve-cylinder was completely new, and the most important was the adoption of the Columbia two-speed rear axle as standard equipment on all models. Auburns offered exceptional value and an article in Fortune Magazine proclaimed “the biggest package in the world for the price.”

The twelve cylinder models have always been held in high regard for their performance and reliability. The speedster version was driven over 500 miles at a blistering speed of 113-mph without any stops. Auburn would capture many speed records, including nine international speed records.

The body on this Auburn was built by the Limousine Body Company. The Green paint, black cloth top and the Green naughide upholstery are the original colors that came on the car. Both the paint and the interior were refinished in 1960. Powering this car is the rare Lycoming V-12 engine, which was rebuilt in 2003, and is backed by a three-speed manual transmission that is connected to a Columbia two-speed rear axle. Equipment on this vehicle are very rare disc wheels with wide whitewall tires, wheel covers, dual side-mount spare tires with pedestal mirrors, fold-down windshield, rear trunk, Trippe driving lights, dual running board spotlights and the Mercury Man radiator cap.

This car is Category I Certified by the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club and the certification is included with the car. According to the certification the frame, engine, drivetrain, suspension and running gear are original components. The restoration on this Auburn is over 30 years old, but still shows to be in fantastic condition and is exemplified by the 100-point under-hood detail.